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Global fast food chain, McDonald’s, has announced it will be opening 250 new outlets across China. As this effort requires the recruitment of 13,000 additional employees, HC Online asked McDonald’s about how it was managing this dramatic increase in staff numbers.

“Large recruitment is not a new thing for McDonald’s China,” a spokesperson for the firm said. “By the end of 2015, McDonald’s had around 2,200 restaurants in China with 120,000 employees.”

The company puts a large focus on employing young people, they added. In fact, 66% of its workforce was born after 1990. This high percentage has been driven by McDonald’s people propositions and recruitment approaches aimed at the younger demographic.

“We believe in youth and are dedicated to giving them more trust and opportunities,” the spokesperson said. “We also encourage more companies and society as a whole to open doors for young people.”

Every year, the firm holds National 520 Recruiting Day in the week of 20 May. During this time, McDonald’s invites job seekers to explore the company’s different stores. As well as providing a better understanding of job duties and company culture, candidates can make smarter career choices as a result.

McDonald’s is also heavily invested in mobile recruiting, the spokesperson said.

“Since 2013, we’ve developed a recruiting app plus tailor-made functions for recruiting on WeChat – China’s largest social media platform – to help candidates easily submit their resumes and find out about us.”

Lastly, McDonald’s has established a cooperative partnership with local universities to position the firm as the “young professional’s best job”. It also regularly sends invitations to high potential schools.

As additional managers will be required to take care of the 250 new stores, McDonald’s has a number of training programs on offer to fast-track these individuals into leadership roles.

“We often say that McDonald’s is not only a store but a school equipped with a comprehensive training system. Crew can not only get professional training but life-long skills and knowledge here,” the spokesperson said.

The current training program includes a 90-day orientation for new hires as well as various matching training plans for employees at different levels.

“We also have world’s seventh Hamburger University in Shanghai and 10 training centers in key cities with more than 60 fulltime trainers.”

In 2015, McDonald’s China trained over 7,000 employees for a total of 266,000 hours in key areas of store operation and leadership.

Of course, China’s unique people landscape presents a number of challenges for McDonald’s especially during these times of high recruitment.

“We are facing increasingly fierce competition for talent in China,” the spokesperson said. “So we continue to increase investment in people branding, recruiting and training which differentiates us from our competitors.”

With the launch of a new people proposition in 2015, McDonald’s is creating an innovative and engaging store culture drive by its youthful workforce. Additional programs such as the student-targeted program, Student Store, build trust and provide additional opportunities for staff, the spokesperson added.